On May 13th 1960, a group of Bay Area college students gathered outside the Supervisors' chambers at City Hall on the second day of hearings by the House Un-American Activities subcommittee, which was touring the country to root out Communists in unions and the teaching profession. The SFPD ended up turning fire hoses on the kids to disperse them, and arresting 64 of them in a "riot" that got national attention and eventually led to the Free Speech Movement. As the Chron reports, HUAC's subsequent propaganda film about the protest completely backfired. ""People saw that film, and said, 'I'm going to Berkeley!'" says former teachers union prez Marty Hittelman, who was in the hearing room that day. [Chron] more ›

Bobster1985 has a great collection of San Francisco archival footage. Here's a clip that shows a bit of San Francisco's progressive history during the Civil Rights Era. The full film can be seen at archive.org. more ›

Please welcome SFist's newest feature: Boycott Blotter. This feature is designed to let you know about what you shouldn't be buying, doing, attending, watching, or thinking about in the name of justice -- or, in most cases, in the name of public intoxication while jogging with your dick hanging out. more ›

Chef/crankypants Anthony Bourdain, the male flip side in the Rachel Ray world of food stardom, has made it a habit of slamming other celeb chefs. Brilliantly so. During an interview with DCist, Bourdain takes aim at Chez Panisse's Alice Water. Behold: more ›